Police Officer Involved Domestic Violence.
Lighting a candle of remembrance for those who've lost their lives to domestic violence behind the blue wall, for strength and wisdom to those still there, and a non-ending prayer for those who thought they had escaped but can't stop being afraid.

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Monday, October 24, 2005

...[Imprisoned ex-cop Cary] Hartmann has indicated he will talk to authorities about the Oct. 2, 1985, disappearance of girlfriend Sheree Warren of Roy... [Her mother] Mary Sorensen acknowledged, "I don't know if I've still accepted she's not coming home. You never learn to completely live with it. You can deal with death. It's finality. But this is a little more complex"...

Former Police Officer Admits To Rapes
KUTV
Oct 24, 2005
Cary Hartmann recently has admitted committing the four 1980s rapes for which he is in prison, and has indicated he will talk about the unsolved disappearance of his girlfriend, a pardons board official said. Hartmann has indicated he will talk to authorities about the Oct. 2, 1985, disappearance of girlfriend Sheree Warren of Roy, said Kent Jones, who was the hearing officer for Hartmann's parole hearing last month. The pardons board has since voted against a release date for Hartmann, 57, and instead set a 2010 rehearing date. "We think it's critical he tell us everything he's done in the past," Jones said. Jones said he confronted Hartmann with new information relating to Warren's disappearance, and, "He denied knowing anything about it." However, Hartmann indicated he would cooperate with authorities looking at the case again, Jones said. Shane Minor, an investigator with the Weber County attorney's office, said he will be meeting with Hartmann within the next two weeks. Hartmann was arrested in May 1987 on rape charges. He was a reserve Ogden police officer at the time the rapes were committed. At the Sept. 20 parole hearing in the prison's Gunnison facility, Hartmann admitted to the four rapes he was convicted of and one he was not charged with, Jones said. "For the first time, he's admitted to what he was prosecuted for," Jones said. "We were impressed, but not quite enough. We're interested in whether he's admitted to everything. It's difficult to say how much more he has to admit to." Jones said Hartmann also admitted to sexual abuse of his three ex-wives, and to making thousands of phone calls to women in which he pretended to conduct a survey about lingerie. Jones said that at Hartmann's first parole hearing in 1990, he still was denying guilt and still was receiving letters of support from church leaders and police officers. No one attended his latest parole hearing.

Mary and Ed Sorenson with a photo
of their daughter Sheree Warren

Holidays hurt when loved one is missing
Monday, December 29, 2003
By Laura Hancock
Deseret Morning News
[Excerpted] ...The Sorensens have their own theories of what happened to their daughter, usually believing she too was murdered. But Mary Sorensen acknowledged, "I don't know if I've still accepted she's not coming home. You never learn to completely live with it. You can deal with death. It's finality. But this is a little more complex," said Ed Sorensen. He and his wife are not concerned about justice, "we'd just like to know where she is." Warren was always on the go and friendly. She loved children, her parents said, and started holiday traditions with her son, who was a toddler when she disappeared. The family stuffed tiny presents into plastic balls and opened them on Christmas Day. Every day of not knowing the whereabouts of her daughter is a struggle for Mary Sorensen. At Christmastime, it's difficult because "there's always someone who says, 'What would it be like if she were here?' " she said...[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety fatality fatalities murder unsolved unresolved missing utah state]

Saturday, October 15, 2005

CT NOW andBridgeport First Candlelight Vigil 27 October 20056:30 PMCity Hall Annex, 999 Broad Street Bridgeport, CTThe City of Bridgeport is in the process of hiring a permanent police chief. Its Acting Police Chief, Anthony Armeno, has a record of domestic violence perpetration. CT NOW has been working hand-in-hand with Bridgeport First, a grassroots community organization, to prevent anyone with a history of domestic violence from becoming permanent chief of police. The effect on victims would be potentially devastating to know that the chief himself has a record of domestic violence perpetration as they picked up the phone to call 911.

I have met with Mayor Fabrizi to convey how strongly we feel that anyone who assumes the position of chief of police must not only be educated about, and sensitive to, the issue of domestic violence, but have an impeccable personal history in this regard.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Please show your support for victims and advocates by joining in this very important community event. Help us send a message that Connecticut will not tolerate domestic violence in Bridgeport or any other community in this state! [Source]

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Orange Circuit Judge Bob Wattles said he awarded temporary custody of the children last month to Paul Terry, 45, after he filed a domestic-violence complaint against his wife. Wattles called the marital dispute "a he-said, she-said thing" but decided in favor of the father...

Orange deputy, 2 kids found slainHe was to appear at hearing with estranged wifeSun SentinelAnthony Colarossi acolarossi@orlandosentinel.com,Pedro Ruz Gutierrez and Daphne SashinOctober 11 2005[Excerpts] An Orange County deputy sheriff and his two young children were found dead in their Windermere-area home Monday, only hours after they failed to appear at a court hearing with the deputy's estranged wife. Neighbors and a Circuit Court judge handling the case identified the deputy as Paul Robert Terry, a 14-year Sheriff's Office veteran. The children -- 10-year-old Elyse and 8-year-old Ian -- were living with Terry, who recently separated from his wife Authorities released few details about the deaths and would not confirm the names of the victims. It was unclear late Monday whether it was a triple murder or a murder-suicide. "Needless to say it was a very tragic scene," said Sgt. Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "Everybody is trying to find a reason why this happened." The gruesome scene was discovered after deputies went to the house on Butler Bay Court to check on the family about 4:30 p.m. When she was told of the deaths, the children's mother, Leigh Ann Terry, broke down in a neighbor's driveway. "She was hysterical"... Orange Circuit Judge Bob Wattles said he awarded temporary custody of the children last month to Paul Terry, 45, after he filed a domestic-violence complaint against his wife. Wattles called the marital dispute "a he-said, she-said thing" but decided in favor of the father... "He alleged that she hit him, and he was afraid for himself and his children," Wattles said Monday night. "I believe, in this case, I granted the initial injunction to him." Wattles said the mother had disputed Paul Terry's claims, but he gave the deputy temporary custody of the children and allowed them to remain in the family's home... "You always try to avoid this. It's just a really tough situation," said Wattles, who plans to attend the funerals and said he expects to cry with Leigh Ann Terry. "Nobody saw this coming," he said. "You never want to have this happen." A neighbor on Butler Bay Court described Paul Terry as a "control freak" who was obsessed with his children and acted like a cop even when he was off duty, around neighbors. "We don't talk to them because he was so screwy," said Carolyn Nichols, who lives next door to the Terrys' home. "This person was really not together. He frightened me." Nichols said Leigh Ann Terry had approached neighbors for shelter because she was afraid of her husband and his access to firearms. "She asked neighbors if she could stay with them," she said. "She was concerned he had a gun"... [Full article here]

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Florida: Sandra Bee WilsonThere are no web memorials to Sandra Bee Wilson.I could not even locate an obituary.She was here.Now she's not.

From July news in 2003: A Miami-Dade County police officer fatally shot his girlfriend and then himself, police said. North Miami Beach officers responded about 2:25 p.m. Sunday to a report of shots fired at the home of Sandra Bee Wilson, 42. They found Officer Leon Storr, 38, a 16-year veteran, dead. Wilson died at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Wilson had worked as a COUNTY POLICE RECORDS CLERK for 15 years... FAMILY MEMBERS TOLD WFOR-CBS 4 ON SUNDAY THAT WILSON HAD COMPLAINED TO HER SUPERVISORS THAT STORR WAS STALKING HER, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS NO SUCH PAPERWORK IN STORR'S FILE TO SUPPORT THE CLAIM...."A REVIEW OF ALL THE DOCUMENTS INDICATES NO TYPE OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST HIM FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE," SAID POLICE SPOKESMAN JUAN DELCASTILLO. "WE'VE TALKED TO CO-WORKERS, WHO INDICATED THE SAME. "IN FACT, THERE ARE STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIM ON HER DESK."...

In my line of work, the saying goes: "If it's not documented, it never happened." But that's not true.

UPDATE:

I thought I'd come back and say that when I point out that police say that there is no paperwork - that I don't believe them, unless they destroyed it or never took it seriously enough - because Leon was an officer - to write it down. Disappearing complaints and paperwork is common in officer-involved cases.